


Harry Potter and His Skeleton Family

by HailSam



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Gen, Harry Potter was Adopted by Other(s), M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:35:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27500884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HailSam/pseuds/HailSam
Summary: Harry is found in a state park while hiding from his abusive relatives. A pair of skeletons take him in, leading to a very different life than what was planned...
Relationships: Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 55
Kudos: 78





	1. The Greeting Company Arrives

**Author's Note:**

> Cascade=Underswap Sans  
> Damon=Underfell Sans  
> Draco=Underfell Papyrus (along with Draco Malfoy)  
> Stretch=Underswap Papyrus
> 
> You can find me:  
> https://twitter.com/sassyhaillive  
> https://www.pillowfort.social/HailSam  
> https://sassyhail.tumblr.com/
> 
> If you need on Pillowfort or even an invite here, let me know I'll help you out :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three brave professors arrive...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi yes it's me beginning another story why you may ask  
> I had a dream  
> and it wouldn't fucking leave
> 
> anywho I have a few ideas but I like the main idea of Draco and Harry being bffs or possibly boyfriends later on. Since they're only 10/11, just good friends for now  
> Eventually things will make sense UwU

Damon had always envisioned his life going a different route: starving to death in an Underground that was always at each other’s throats, devoid of food and love (not LV, however), maybe getting his little brother out but beyond that dusting away in the wind.

He would’ve never seen the reality that was his future had he given up so long ago, the scars of it still echoed through his body and mannerisms. All the same, he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

He had a home which while not very big was cozy and lovely, a mate in Cascade who was another skeleton like himself, and their adopted son: Harry.

Harry James Potter.

Now the thing was, you could tell he was adopted instantly. He was a human little boy after all. But they treated him like their own…

After all, it was nigh on impossible for them to have their own. Damon’s past had affected his magic greatly, and Cascade had tried to carry but he just couldn’t for whatever reason.

They weren’t even really expecting Harry to be honest, but a fateful visit to a vacation spot led to….well, all this. But it didn’t matter, what mattered was…

“AND WE SHOULD PROBABLY BOOK IT FOR ALL DAY.”

Damon nodded with a yawn, the knife in his hand cutting away at an onion for the ‘special’ lasagna Cascade was making. It was May, the birds were chirping and happy outside, but damn was it hot now. Damon had taken to wearing a simple black tank top and jean shorts in the house, but Cascade wore his usual jacket with stars sewn on the sleeves, black jeans and his starry boots.

Damon could hear Harry upstairs, having slept in, thumping off his bed finally and his feet tapping on the carpet. His high-powered hearing had been useful ‘back there’, but now it was an inconvenience, keeping him up at night unless he uses his special earplugs. He felt a kiss brush his cheek and gave Cascade a grin as he tossed the onion pieces into the pot. “I agree. Kid needs ta swim.”

Cascade’s pretty blue eye pips flickered into stars as he stared at Damon. “WONDERFUL! WE CAN INVITE MY BROTHER AND YOURS AND MY FATHER...AH...DO YOU THINK HARRY HAS ANYONE HE WANTS TO INVITE?”

Damon tilted his head in thought, the sink squeaking to life so he could wash his hands thoroughly. “Not sure. He’s got friends but, you know how it is.”

Cascade nodded, the pot shifting to be tilted and dropping its contents into the pan. “YEAH...MAYBE JUST A FAMILY PARTY, PERHAPS.”

“Yeah. Hey, Bolt!” he called up, stepping away from the sink to wipe his hands on a towel, hearing the skittering of the tennis shoes that they had gotten Harry late last years. “C’mon down, time to eat!”

“Yes, mum!”

Harry was a short, lanky ten-year-old who was soon to turn 11. When he started second grade, they had found he had need of glasses and managed to wrangle some that weren’t coke bottle ones. They were wirey gold ones that perched on the end of his nose, always being pushed back up by a knuckle. His hair was unruly with curls that didn’t want to stay down, but Damon had found a ‘Curly Girl Method’ that helped spring the curls to life and give him a more ‘bouncy’ look than just ‘frazzled’. He had bright green eyes and a small little lightning bolt scar, which gave birth to the nickname Bolt that his mum and uncles often called him.

He also had a secret.

He was Magic.

Magic was what created and kept Monsters living, flowing through their veins and bones and fur. It powered them, kept them alive and functioning, until the time they would Fall Down, their magic scattering into the wind. Magic was sadly lost to the humans over the years, causing them to become jealous and irate towards the Monsters. In recent times, things had settled down, but the memories remained.

Finding a human with any ounce of Magic was...strange, but Damon was guarded. What would the other humans do? Despite the security they now held, humans had left their devastation on the Monsters of the past, and Damon had been adamant that they keep it secret. Cascade would never do anything to harm his little family, and so they had done their best.

Harry knew how to work his Magic. He was very adept at it, making them proud despite the fact they had to hide it.

For now, they didn’t think of that, merely that Harry clomped down in one of his new pairs of jeans and a simple white shirt to get dragged up into a hug from Damon. “My baaaaby, getting bigger!” he crooned, rocking Harry back and forth and kissing right over the lightning bolt scar with loud fake ‘mwah’s.

Harry laughed, patting at the arm holding him aloft. “Muuuum, please let me down?”

“Fiiiine,” he did so with a put-upon sigh, letting Harry wobble over to a chair. “Can’t even hug the soon to be birthday boy.”

“MWEH! NOT FOR ANOTHER MONTH OR SO!” Cascade pointed the spatula behind him as Harry laughed, his legs swinging under the chair.

“And then I’ll be going to the junior high. With the big kids,” he playfully whispered, balancing his head on the table, hands cupped on the edge with wide eyes. Damon ran his sharp fingers through the curls on Harry’s head, chuckling.

“Yup, with the big kids. Remember, don’t let ‘em bully ya.”

“I won’t, Mum,” he blew a curl from in front of his face, tucking it back and Damon dropped a kiss back onto his head in return.

That was how their days usually went, a nice family meal in the mornings (or late morning, as they slept in when it wasn’t school time) and then they did what was planned that day. They had no clue what was coming that next month…

~~~

_tap tap tap_

Harry paused from the perusal of his new magazine on the couch, peeking over the back of it towards the front door. His magazine was all about the new art forms coming out, which he didn’t quite care about except for the last article: new double-tipped markers that blended almost better than the ones he had been using!

Which if he was honest, he adored his own set since Mum and Dad had gotten them, but he just adored new markers!

Wait, no, the door. He shook his head, folding the magazine carefully and placing it in the middle of the coffee table. “There,” he mumbled, hopping up and carefully not shuffling his socked feet on the carpet. One hated to be shocked when one was not expecting it!

_tap tap tap_

“Mum!” Harry called out, ducking around the corner to Damon’s personal office. “Someone’s at the door!”

“Remember the rules!” he called back, a welding tool held tight in his hands, several pieces of steel bent in ways that messed with Harry’s mind but would soon become a masterpiece of art.

“Deal!” Harry scurried away, the welding tool lighting back up and sparks flying behind him. Cascade was already gone for work so that just left Harry to do the ‘business’. He paused at the door, taking in a breath, trying to pretend he was tall and could defend himself should it come to it. “Who is it?”

“...Professors McGonagall and Snape!” came a voice with an accent he couldn’t place but sounded much like Miranda’s from school, her red hair in tight braids and often spouted words they didn’t know the meaning to but made them all giggle when the teachers would scold her. “And Hagrid.”

Harry clicked his tongue, tapping his foot with his hands on his hips. “I don’t know those names,” he called back. “I’ll get Mum.”

And off he went back, nearly sliding down the wooden floor this time to grab Damon, who was finished just in time. A bit of smoke was dusted on his hands and he wiped them as clean as possible as he was pulled along by an eager child. “Hang on, okay,” he laughed, linking their hands together like when Harry was little. “I don’t know those names either but maybe they’re new neighbors.”

They were not.

‘Hagrid’ was a large man, nearly as big as Asgore himself and brushing their ceiling with every fidget. ‘Snape’ was tall, almost as tall ad Grandfather if not taller, and ‘McGonagall’ was a very nice lady but strict-looking.

They gave Harry a letter, to which he was busy flipping it over and over in his hands at the kitchen table as the adults ‘talked’ around him.

“You can’t have ignored the signs!” McGonagall seemed to stumble out, her hat bobbing as she moved her head bouncing from them to him and back. Cascade had walked in not too long after Damon texted him in a panic. “He’s, well, he’s!”

“A wizard,” Snape let out a long sigh and Damon huffed, crossing his arms to appear intimidating.

“You act like we’re stupid. We know this.”

“WE JUST…” Cascade paused, hands up, looking from them to Harry who was busy sneaking some scissors to cut the wax seal off without breaking it. “WE’VE NEVER HEARD OF HOGWARTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.”

“But we gone an’ lef’ him wif tha Dursleys!” Hagrid piped up, hands entangling in his beard. “Wha’ happened?”

Damon’s face grew dark and Cascade let out a sigh, hands dropping down. “IT’S...A LONG STORY.”

“We have nothing but time,” Snape seemed to sneer over at the boy, who was slowly sneaking the letter from the envelope, wax seal intact, when Damon snapped at him.

“Don’t glare at my kid. An’ if ya had done yer due diligence or whatever the fuck it’s called-”

“HONEY…”

“But it’s true!” Damon had a set glare on his face, staring at the three adults. “Ain’t heard nothin’, no hide or hair from ya, and you come on in ‘oh hi there how’s things here’s a bombshell’,” he slapped a hand to his face, sliding it down with a sigh. “Ya can’t act like kids are little toys that can stop fer ya on a whim.”

That was a point of contention for himself and Cascade, at times. They really had no idea about Harry’s parents, but Cascade had always wanted to welcome them with open arms. Damon, on the other hand, had been furious and against that plan from the start. They had to have known where Harry was with those despicable family members of his, and they didn’t even check up on him? Fuck them.

But they held these arguments well away from Harry, going ‘round and ‘round with it until they were both out of breath. Eventually, they’d come together, apologize for yelling, and had come to an agreement that it would be Harry’s choice on what he wanted to do should it ever come to that.

Didn’t mean Damon couldn’t feel extremely sore about it though. 

The McGonagall lady hesitated before sighing, her head bouncing back and forth as if agreeing. “I-I see what you are saying, yes. And I agree. However…” she let out a sniffle, a small piece of cloth dabbing at her nose for a moment. “Well, there’s quite a few things we just did not know about, I suppose.”

“I guess,” Damon grumbled, sinking into Cascade’s arm around him for the moment, letting the bristle of magic settle slowly back into his bones.

Their attention was caught when Harry turned in his chair, holding the parchment tenderly in his hands, stars shooting in his eyes as he grinned. “I want to go! Please, Mum? It sounds amazing!”

Damon elbowed Cascade roughly. “He gets that cute look from you,” he muttered as Cascade winked, rubbing at his chest with a laugh.

“OKAY, LET’S ALL HAVE A TALK FIRST, AND THEN WE’LL GO FROM THERE.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damon would murder for his boi  
> Cascade just wants people happy, man.
> 
> Sad bois are sad.
> 
> Also I like having a tiny artist Harry UwU


	2. The Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go on an ADVENTURE \o/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Harry's like 10-11 but even that young I liked holding hands with people

_Harry was great at hide and seek, despite being so young. He had to be good at it, to avoid his uncle and aunt’s wrath at times. Today they had went ‘on vacation’ although he wasn’t sure why he was brought along. He never went anywhere, and they never liked to take him anyway._

_Turns out they were hoping he would get lost, so that was an easy question to answer._

_After a very loud and brash fight, with a pot being flung at him once more, he hightailed it out of there into the forest and hid...for a very short while until he couldn’t help but to burst into tears._

_It wasn’t fair! Other little boys and girls had families who loved them, who took them on trips and would give them nighttime kisses and stories! Why didn’t his aunt and uncle love him? And his parents? They abandoned him here, didn’t they? That’s what his aunt said, after all…_

_“Hey. You okay?”_

_Harry sniffled, swiping at his eyes and squinting in the darkness (when did it get dark? Was it always dark?). A skeleton stood in stark contrast, the moon shining upon him. He looked horrifying, massive scars that covered one bare arm, large sharp teeth, red eye lights staring down at him. He wasn’t sure how he looked in a too big shirt, no shoes, and bristles stuck in his hair._

_“I’s losted…”_

_“Here. I’ll help ya find yer home, kid.” With a hand outstretched, that’s exactly what the monster did._

“ ‘Dear Mister Potter, it is our pleasure to inform you of your acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,’ ” Harry read the parchment gently folded in his hands at the coffee table. He kneeled at it, content to not sit in a chair like how Damon and the two professors had taken a seat, but Cascade kneeled next to him, always eager to get down next to his son to interact with him. The lettering had a golden glint to it, and was as fancy as Cascade’s writing could be when he wrote letters as Santa to a small happy boy.

His eyebrows furrowed as he mumbled along. “What’s a poo-ter cauldron?”

“PEW,” Cascade pointed out gently. “PEWTER, REMEMBER? IT’S A METAL.”

“Oooh,” Harry nodded slowly, swaying in place as McGonagall spoke up.

“Everything on the list is at Diagon Alley, which we will gladly take you all in order to gather his school supplies.” She let a small smile creep across her face. “Pardoning brooms, of course.”

Damon made a grunting noise at that, not sure what she meant it by as a joke. “Sure. We were meaning ta go by August anyway, might as well get it done.”

“BETTER LET DAD KNOW,” Cascade looked behind them at Damon, who nodded. He looked back at the group with a smile. “MY FATHER POPS OVER FOR A VISIT EVERY SO OFTEN, SO WE LIKE TO LET HIM KNOW WHEN WE’RE GONE.”

Snape mumbled something but McGonagall nodded quickly. “Of course, of course, family is important after all.”

Cascade felt his smile wavering from nerves as he helped Harry peek over the letter while Damon text on the phone, his tongue peeking out in concentration as he did so. After a moment he put the phone away. “Ding says a’right, but to come over when we’re done. So...this place we gotta go to, how far is it?”

McGonagall held up a finger in thought, and then clicked her tongue. “Right...yes, we can take one of the...vehicles there, yes.”

“There’s a shortcut,” Snape grumbled but she elbowed him in response.

“But we are doing what the family prefers,” she whispered sharply, giving the family another smile. “We hate to inconvenience anyone.”

“Uh-huh…” Damon just shook his head, sighing as he slapped a hand to his thigh and got up. “A’right, let’s get rolling.”

‘Get rolling’ consisted of allowing something called a ‘garage’ to slowly open its large mouth and reveal the weirdest egg-shaped vehicle the trio of wizards had ever been privy to know. While Cascade was busy making room for them (Hagrid was...exceptionally large after all), Hagrid cleared his throat and held out a white box. “Summit for yeh...know it’s early an’ all but bah, figure ye c’n enjoy it.”

Harry took it with wide eyes, slowly undoing the twine holding it together. It was a crumbly, strawberry cake with ‘Happy birthday, Harry’ written in red icing. He let a grin shine up at the gentle giant. “I love it, Mister Hagrid. It looks delicious! But I should wait for later, or I’ll get all full for lunch.”

Hagrid seemed quite touched by Harry’s thanks while Damon cleared his throat. “Well, I guess a small piece wouldn’t hurt, if you don’t make a mess in the van.”

Harry’s grin widened, and he asked in a whisper if Hagrid wanted to share as ‘magically’ the van was able to fit him inside. It was a little cramped but not ridiculously so. Damon had decided to trade places with McGonagall without much of an explanation, content to sit next to his son and smile as Harry kept reading off the letter over and over again.

“TO THE RIGHT?”

“Yes, that’s the way.”

“BUT IT’LL TAKE US INTO THE MIDDLE OF TOWN.” The blinker came on even as Cascade spoke, confused.

“Indeed,” she bobbed her head, the hat bouncing a little. “But it is the shortest route there with the roads.”

“I SEE…”

He didn’t, not really, but abided by her directions. They were the ones who knew where they were headed anyway. They ended up driving into the parking lot of a semi-run down old bar that Cascade was sure his brother had attended one in his youth. It just gave that sort of vibe, you know? Cascade parked and they piled out, Damon ensuring Harry didn’t wander off by taking his hand as Cascade locked up the van. “OKAY! WHERE TO?”

“There.” She motioned at the pub. ‘The Leaky Cauldron’, one could make out barely from a filthy sign that looked moments away from falling apart and upon someone’s head. Damon let out a huff but kept close to Cascade while Harry kept glancing up at Hagrid.

With half the cake eaten on the way there, they had become fast friends, or as much a friend one can be with someone they just met.

Hagrid opened the door for the group, stating that the pub ‘knew him’, and found it semi-amusing as he stomped inside.

Cascade ducked around, keeping a hand on Damon’s shoulder, while Damon held Harry’s hand.

“Oh my dear lord, is that Harry Potter?”

The pub had quieted down so fast and hard that there was a tinny ding in the background where the noise once existed. Damon took a nervous step back as suddenly the crowd surrounded them, Harry staring at them with a nervous smile as some shook his lone hand and others touched his hair or his shoulder.

“Mister Potter, a pleasure-”

“Sir, sir, over here-”

“Could ye not group up on ‘im-”

“Oh my, what a marvelously tall man you’ve become-”

“Could you all PLEASE back up?!” Damon growled and Harry gasped, pointing at a man who looked about to pass out.

“I know you! I met you in a store once.”

_Young enough to ride in the buggy, but too ‘old’ to feel that he wanted to, Harry had taken to walking ‘like a big boy’. Excep this ended up in his being separated from his parents._

_He had nervously hurried around, bumping into a man near the frozens. “I’m sorry!” he squeaked out, as the man looked down, his bowler hat tilting._

_“Mind you, son, look where you’re-good heavens!” He seemed to lose all pretense, dropping the fish he had been examining into the basket dangling from his arm. “A-Are you-oh my! Are you lost? Please, let me help you, oh no one’s going to believe me,” he mumbled, even as Harry got distracted by a flash of white behind the man._

_“There’s my daddy!” He pointed with a giggle, and it was Cascade, looking above a rotating stack of sunglasses, and they were reunited without much more fuss beyond the man consistently bowing over and over._

“He remembers me!” the man gushed, his hat nearly falling off once more as the crowd surged around them. “M-Me!!”

“Honestly, you lot!” McGonagall harped at them, the papers in hand snapping to attention as she swatted them away. “I assumed you were all taught better manners in your school years! Why Margie, this surprises me!”

‘Margie’, for her credit, lowered her autograph book and quill with an abashed expression as the family was hustled through the bar and out into an alleyway. Harry looked up at his mum with a grin. “That was fun.”

“Speak fer yerself,” Damon playfully swept a hand over Harry’s curls, letting out a huff as Harry tried to put it back into order. “Now where to?”

“I thought you said the keeper opens the doorway?” McGonagall asked Hagrid, who cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, almost nervously, clutching a small pink umbrella on his belt.

“Summit like t’at…”

“Can we just get this over with,” Snape let out a sigh, approaching the wall and flicking out a long stick. They watched curiously as he tapped at the bricks like a maestro, his long fingers playing an orchestra none of them could hear.

And then the wall melted away into nothingness, a new din of noise overtaking them.

“Welcome,” McGonagall smiled, looking back at the three of them, “to Diagon Alley.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you notice my little thign with Hagrid? >w<
> 
> Also, Snape will speak up soon, he's just along for the ride, unwillingly
> 
> Also also this is so cute and I'm having fun!


	3. Diagon Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The peeps head in, what do they see?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear LORD when did I writ 3k WORDS what the fU-
> 
> anywho  
> hehe  
> I mean this is going to follow slightly close to the books  
> *slightly*  
> as in obv I'm changing up a little and I'm obv very conflicted on how I want the future to go  
> but right now...this is good.

_”It scawy…”_

_“Yeah, it can be.”_

_A creak of the rocker as Damon held tight to the little bundle in his arms. He stretched out his legs onto the ottoman with a grunt, shifting the little boy in his arms. It was still dark in the room, but Damon had turned on another nightlight. Now tiny stars decorated the ceiling, slowly moving above them in small circles. Still, it was too dark for the little boy who had spent a majority of his short life in a cramped closet._

_Damon kissed his hair, rubbing his back. “See the stars? They light our way.”_

_Small sparkling green eyes peeked out from the blankets, holding onto Damon’s shirt. “...still scawy…”_

_“I’m here,” he rumbled, pressing another kiss to Harry’s head. “And I’ll keep the scary away.”_

Diagon Alley was, oddly, not diagonal. Rather, the street was pretty straight-forward, with a curve or two that ended in a circle, like a cul-de-sac. Their first stop was a bank. It held a door with an ominous sign, and odd creatures that skillfully counted coins that were stacked in piles around them.

“Ya know, we got G,” Damon grumbled as McGonagall spoke up.

“His parents left behind a vault for his schooling,” she unraveled a small scroll, peeling away a little key and dropping it into one of the creature’s-goblins is what Hagrid had whispered to them-hands. “It wouldn’t hurt at all to gather up some instead of changing out your...G.”

“Sure,” Damon mumbled as the goblin hefted himself off a small seat, climbing down a ladder. Harry watched him, enthralled as he usually was when meeting a new person.

“I’m Harry,” he piped up. “What’s your name?”

The goblin paused, the key glinting in his hand as he slowly turned it. “Griphook, young Harry. Come. To the vaults.”

“I shoul’ stay behind,” Hagrid grunted, taking a massive step back and patting at his belt. “Seems ta me all’s well-”

“Are you still nauseated at the motion?” Snape let out a slow sigh, his nose crinkling at the very thought. “I swear, what use is it to accompany us here then-”

“Severus,” the professor snapped at him sharply, and he stopped, still seeming frustrated. “Very well, Hagrid. We’ll retrieve the...other thing.”

“Righ’ then,” Hagrid nodded, a hand entangling in his beard. “Righ’.”

Damon and Cascade traded looks, but at a shrug from Cascade, they followed after Griphook. Harry opted to sit up close near the goblin, his knees curled up to his chin as he did so. “Do you get to ride in here often? How many people do you see? Do you count to a thousand every day?”

Damon cursed as he nearly tumbled into the minecart, as it was nearly pitch black with various torches lining the walls. Cascade quickly went to assist him as Griphook took up a large...hook, grabbing up a lantern to aid them as the two professors climbed in the back. “Yes. Many. And no.” He paused, his hand on the crank to force the minecart forward. “I count to a million.”

Harry let out a laugh before shrieking in a mix of glee and fear as they shot off like a bottle rocket. Damon’s hand clutched the back of his shirt nervously as they zigged and zagged all over the place. He got a shout for leaning over the side of it, curious about a blast of fire, before he was yanked back in. “Harry, stay put!”

“Sorry, Mum!” he said, eyes wide as they slammed to a stop in front of...a vault? Is that what this was?

Griphook grunted, putting the lantern up near the door and letting it hang for a moment before climbing out. He held up the key, then inserted it into the tiniest lock Harry had ever seen. Harry scrambled out as well and they crowded around.

The door clanked and shuddered before it slowly ratcheted up into the air, leaving the vault open. Stacks upon stacks upon stacks of gold and copper and silver coins lined the place.

Harry bent down and grabbed a gold coin curiously as Cascade looked at the two professors. “SO THIS IS FOR HIS SCHOOLING? ALL THIS? IS HOGWARTS THAT EXPENSIVE?”

“No no!” McGonagall waved a hand, pulling out a small bag from nowhere and giving it to Harry to fill. “No, you see, some students like to buy treats or perhaps go to Hogsmeade and spend it on...candies and the like.”

“HM,” Cascade nodded slowly, a hand on his chin as Damon helped Harry put a handful or two in his bag. “YES, HOWEVER, WE CAN STILL PROVIDE FOR HIM...ALTHOUGH, I SUPPOSE A STRICTLY EDUCATIONAL FUNDING WOULD BE FORTUITOUS!”

“So that’s what we’ll use it for,” Damon straightened up, running a hand over Harry’s curls playfully and making him laugh. “Just school, kid. Good ol’ necessities.”

“Okay. Is this enough?” he held out the bag to the professors, to which Snape spoke up first.

“If not, then you will have to figure it out, will you not?” he twirled around, heading back to the minecart as Harry slowly let the bag lower. Damon growled as McGonagall sighed and turned to the little family.

“My apologies, he’s...it’s quite enough, Mister Potter,” she smiled at him, and he gave a small one back. “Come, we have one more place to go.”

After clambering back into the minecart, this time with Damon squished up near Harry and Cascade right behind them, they were off to...a darkened vault door. No lantern was hung, and Griphook took slow and careful steps to it. Using his claw, he raked it down the doorway, but Harry’s view was blocked as Damon nudged him back.

“Ain’t nothin’ fer us, champ,” he mumbled and Cascade leaned over, kissing Harry’s hair.

“EXCITED?”

“Mm-hmm!” Harry grinned, looking back at his dad as the two professors, who had climbed out, were getting back in after grabbing what looked like a grubby package. “Where will we go first?”

They decided to split up, in a manner. Hagrid had evasively informed them of something he ‘had to do’ and would meet them at the...Ollivanders? The wand shop. It was at the end of the alley-that-wasn’t-an-alley, and McGonagall had said she needed to send an owl off to the headmaster.

Dumbledore, according to Harry’s letter, a mysterious man they had been informed was a magnificent wizard who held the position of headmaster over Hogwarts.

Damon still felt highly uncomfortable and wanted to ‘talk’ with this man, but Cascade of course soothed his worried nerves.

Unfortunately, this meant Snape was now their guide. He was silent, but radiated broodiness like it was going out of style.

First they headed to the Apothecary, which Snape dutily informed them he needed supplies there anyway. Good for him, Damon would mutter as they stepped inside. Damon tapped Harry’s shoulder, holding the letter. “We’ll find the main stuff, you gather up supplies like Dad taught ya, kay?”

“Okay!”

“OH DEAR, LOOK AT THIS!” Damon’s attention was caught by his husband, and they were both intrigued by a ‘collapsible cauldron’ until the little card at the bottom cautioned against use and that it was only for fun. Harry went around idly, pausing near a stack of ‘beetle eyes’ right where Professor Snape was examining them.

“Yes, Mister Potter?”

“Hi.” Harry leaned up a little, still just the slightest bit shorter than the box, and he scooped one up to Snape’s surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“They’re like plums,” Harry said, turning the one in his hand slowly. His thumb ran over a dark pitted spot. “If they have pits, or if they’re squishy, they’re rotted. You need firm ones, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Snape slowly said, watching as Harry carefully plucked a few out and cradled them in his hands, looking for indentions and other indicators. “Yes, that’s quite correct. Perhaps you’ll be a fine potion maker in the future.”

“Dad likes to cook,” Harry set back on his heels, stashing the eyes in a small basket provided by the shop. “He taught me all about it! I can’t cook cakes though. They all kind of…” He made a shape with his hand, and then flattened it while making a face.

Snape hid a chuckle, clearing his throat as he stood up straighter. “Well, we all have our...downsides. Come, Mister Potter. Perhaps you can find a bat spleen that won’t have been covered in bile as has been my disastrous luck these past three times.”

Harry gleefully followed, and yes, he did find one free of grime, albeit it a little too spongey for his tastes. But the professor was pleased, and Damon and Cascade appeared, Cascade holding a slip of paper. “THEY SAID THEY’LL DELIVER THE CAULDRON BACK HOME. DID YOU FIND EVERYTHING?”

Harry dug in his basket, pulling out a vial of porcupine quills. “Look! They’re straight and not broken like a few of the others!”

“GOOD FIND!”

“Yes,” Snape said, tucking his own purchases inside the arm of his robe, stashed inside a small paper bag. “He does have the eye for it. Come, the robe shop next.”

Inside was about the same as any other clothing shop, pardoning the excess of robes. Vaguely, Damon knew BB would be having a fit...or perhaps he would be asking several probing questions so as to make his own.

The shop owner, Madam Malkin herself, instructed Harry to stand on a stool with his arms up a little. Damon patted his head again as Snape stepped out of the shop to see where his coworkers had ended up. “We’ll get the gloves and the hat, Harry. And nametags. Just stay put, kay?”

“Okay!”

They disappeared again, another shop worker gleefully telling them the differences between dragon hide gloves and chameleon skin gloves. Harry felt his nose itch but measuring tape that floated-without being encased in colorful magic-and kept spinning around his head or his arm, so he waited for an opening to rub at it quickly.

Another person stepped up on a stool, and Harry turned his head a little, enough to spy them in the massive mirror. It was another boy with slick blonde hair, a pointed nose, and an aura of ‘I’m better than you’. The other boy turned as well, curious, frowning. “Hello. I’m Draco Malfoy.”

“Hi! I’m Harry. Are you getting robes too?”

“Yes,” the other boy puffed up a little as the tape wound around one shoulder. “It’s time for me to go to Hogwarts. Slytherin, I suspect. What say you? What house are you going to?”

“We can choose?”

They stared at each other a moment as Draco tried to figure out how to say that no, not exactly, but also, yes…? “Hmm. Well. Do you know any of the houses?” Right, best fire back with what he knows.

Harry shrugged. “Not really, it’s all new to me.”

“Magic is new to you??” Draco scoffed, turning his nose up. “What are you, a mudblood?”

“I don’t know what that is, but it doesn’t sound nice. You should be nice, or people won’t like you.”

Draco then stared at the other who kept a grin on his face, as if he didn’t just say the rudest thing to Draco he had ever heard. “I-I’m nice! I’m just saying that-!”

“It was an insult,” Harry acknowledged. “Something you thought would hurt me, even if I didn’t know what it meant. That’s rude. You should learn manners by being nice to others.”

Draco felt his face becoming brighter. He had manners! He’d had manners thrown at him all his life! He squashed down the immediate need to stomp his foot angrily, mostly since the shop owner would not be happy he crushed her tape. “F-Fine! I’m. Sorry, I guess.”

“No you’re not, but that’s okay.” Harry gave him a large grin. “It’s new but not the magic. I’ve never heard of Hogwarts.”

Oh. Okay. Well. Still, Draco felt fury building in his chest, but he let out a sharp breath, looking away from the mirror a moment before looking back. “...it’s only the most famous school of wizardry ever,” he grumbled.

Harry shrugged. “It’s not helpful when no one talks about it. I like your gloves.”

Draco blinked, his grey eyes turning to his hands. He had worn his favorite warm pair today, a dark green with silver lines in rings around his fingers. “Um. Thank you. I like your glasses.”

“Thank you! See? You can be nice!” Harry gushed, almost bouncing in place and Draco rolled his eyes just as his mother appeared.

“Draco, darling, how-oh. Hello there.”

“Hello, Mrs. Draco’s Mum.” That WAS his mum, right? They were near mirror images of each other. She smiled at him, a hand sweeping a stray piece of hair behind her ear, one hand on her son’s shoulder.

“Narcissa Malfoy. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Draco, dear, are you finished?”

He guessed he was, by the way the tapes had stopped, leaving him in a robe. He put his arms down with a shrug, Harry’s annoying statements stewing in his brain.

And then two skeleton monsters appeared, one plunking a hat on top of Harry’s head. “HOW HANDSOME!” he crooned, patting Harry’s cheeks as said son whined and fussed about it messing up his hair.

“I’m with him, babe, it messes up all the curls! Oh uh. Hi.” He waved at the other two and Narcissa cleared her throat, smiling.

“Hello. I believe our sons were...making friends.”

Draco didn’t say anything, albeit he didn’t feel so friendly towards the other boy. Harry however jumped off the stool, the hat in his arms as he bounced on his toes, now wearing a robe as well. “We are! Draco’s interesting, he could tell me more about Hogwarts since he knows about it!”

Okay, now THAT helped the prideful soul. Draco puffed up at the thought. “Yes well, it wouldn’t do to appear at school without an ounce of knowledge.”

Narcissa sighed with a muttered ‘Draco, please,’ but the louder skeleton laughed, clapping a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “HOW RIGHT YOU ARE! MORE KNOWLEDGE IS NEVER SOMETHING TO TURN ONE’S NOSE AGAINST! I’M CASCADE, THIS IS MY HUSBAND DAMON,” who made a nod, fussing over Harry’s curls again, “AND OUR SON, HARRY. NICE TO MEET YOU BOTH!”

“Same to you,” Narcissa smiled, but in that polite way she had instead of a warm friendly way. “We should be going soon, my husband has one more place for us to go.”

“No no, wait!” Harry rushed over, holding out a piece of paper to Draco who took it in confusion. “My birthday is in a month. Do you want to go? We get to swim and eat cake but no one else can really come ‘cause it’s during the summer or something.”

The two skeletons traded a look but Draco felt…

He felt…

He’d always been invited to parties. A coming of age for his cousin, a birthday for his father’s friends’ children who were meant to be HIS friends in school.

But it was odd. HE was never strictly invited. It had been his father ‘and family’. He was never sought out, not really, to be handed an awkwardly written address and the promise of cake and swimming.

While they had gotten off on the wrong foot, it seemed Harry was willing to let him...be a friend?

His face felt hot again, but not from anger or embarrassment. He nodded, clearing his throat. “Of course! It’s ill-mannered to decline a request.” He stuffed the paper away to Harry’s glee, and was steered away by his mother once more.

Damon puts a hand on Harry’s shoulder, chuckling. “Making friends wherever we go, huh, son? Alright, let’s go, I think our guides are getting antsy.”

Harry, confused, looked towards the door, and gasped as he saw Hagrid holding a very pretty cage with a very pretty white owl inside it. “An owl!” He rushed out the door eagerly, leaving his parents laughing as they paid for the clothing.

She was elegant and beautiful. Harry slipped his fingers between the bars, and she leaned forward with a soft hoot and a little nip to curious fingers. Harry laughed, pulling his fingers free. “She bit me!”

“Remember, Harry, she doesn’t know if you’ll hurt her or not. Be gentle,” Damon reminded him. Harry nodded, his face pressed up close to the cage with large eyes as she shifted back and forth on her little perch, hooting again at him.

McGonagall smiled as they lead them down Diagon Alley. “Have you had animals before then?”

“SORT OF?” Cascade shrugged. “THERE’S A DOG MY BROTHER HAS AND HARRY ADORES HIM.”

“Toby?” Damon snickered. “Who doesn’t adore Toby? He’s like the chillest dog.”

“Ah. Dogs are...something,” the way she said it felt as if she didn’t quite adore dogs as much as say...cats. “So you’ve not owned an animal before?”

“A LITTLE HARD, WE’RE ALL BONES,” Cascade raised an arm, showing off his fingers. “SO SOME ANIMALS ARE HARD TO TAKE CARE OF, AND HARRY HAD BEEN TO YOUNG TO DO THINGS ON HIS OWN. NOW, THOUGH, I THINK IT’S FINE.”

“Toby’s been good, for all of us really.”

“Really? Has he had the...dog long?”

“YES! TOBY IS HIS SERVICE DOG!” Cascade pulled out his phone, flicking through a few things before flipping it around to show the curious adults. On it was a taller skeleton crouched down in an orange hoodie and cargo shorts with a white dog with a black vest on on it.

“How cu’e! Wha’ is tha’?” Hagrid mumbled as McGonagall nodded.

“What is a ‘service dog’ however?”

“MY BROTHER HAS LOW ENERGY LEVELS. FOR MONSTERS, THIS MEANS THAT HE’S CONSTANTLY TIRED, HE CAN’T GET AROUND AND DO THINGS,” Cascade shook his head. “IT’S VERY ANNOYING TO HIM BECAUSE HE LIKES TO DO A LOT OF THINGS! ANYWAY, TOBY HELPS HIM OUT WHEN HE’S EXHAUSTED BUT HAS STUFF TO DO, LIKE OPEN A DOOR FOR HIM OR BRINGS HIM HIS PHONE IF HE’S FORGOT IT.”

“Uncle Stretch lets me pet him,” Harry grinned and Damon chuckled.

“Yeah, you’re not supposed ta mess with a service dog, but Toby is chill so Stretch don’t mind it, ‘specially when we’re over and can kinda take over when he ain’t feelin’ up to it.”

“Ah,” McGonagall said, although she seemed a little thoughtful as they finally approached the most important leg of their journey: Ollivanders.

Harry tilted his head back curiously, and the owl hooted. The shop just...felt out of sorts from the rest of the place. It looked like it was falling apart, that the sign could topple any moment.

But in the shop window laid a singular wand on a velvet pillow. The way the sun shone on it, the way it was laid so reverently, the way no dust crept towards it as it did the windows, told more of the story.

Harry blinked. “...cool.”

“Strange,” Damon muttered, but Hagrid held the door open for them as they piled in.

Beyond the curt bell ring, nothing else sounded. There was a creak of the floor, but everything was still, quiet. Unnervingly so. It was as if the shop was holding its breath in, waiting for something not even it knew.

“Hello.”

Harry jumped a little, turning towards a small podium where a man slowly climbed into a chair, his hands lacing together. “Here for your wand, young wizard?”

“THIS ISN’T GOING TO HURT HIM, IS IT?” Cascade had a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “NOT LIKE...A BLOOD TEST OR…?”

“No no,” the man-Ollivander?-chuckled, the chair creaking as he stood up and got down, plucking up a box and setting it on the table. “It’s a simple swish...and flick. Here, go on. 11 inch, Yew, dragon heartstring, rigid.”

Harry quickly handed over his owl friend to his dad, picking up the wand. He decided to give it a flick, and in doing so, a shot of magic burst the bulb in Ollivander’s only functioning lamp. Harry quickly put it down with a yelp as the man chortled. “Not to worry! First never works, no, never. Let me just…”

He toddled away as Harry waited patiently, rocking on his feet as McGonagall assured them all that Ollivander had had a lot destroyed over the years and a bulb would be nothing.

He came back with another box, opening it. “12 inch, Cherry, Unicorn hair, bendy. Go on, yes.” Harry took it in hand.

A swish had a mirror shattering and he dropped it in the box. “Sorry! Sorry!”

“No no! I love a good challenge,” Ollivander winked, placing the box tenderly on top of the other before scurrying away.

One after another after another, and Harry was feeling pretty darn down about things. Ollivander rubbed at his chin in thought, staring at Harry’s forehead where the curls had shifted away, revealing his scar. Cascade and Damon were cheering him up, saying it’ll be the next for sure.

Ollivander came back with a blackened box, opening it reverently. “This...is a mighty special wand. Here. Go on then. Holly. 11 inch. Phoenix feather. Nice...and supple...” He pushed the box to Harry, who frowned.

“How am I supposed to know though? All I’ve done is ruined your shop.”

“You’ll know, Mister Potter,” he waved a hand for Harry to take the wand. He picked it up.

Something pretty sprung to life at the end of his wand, a bright golden light that zipped in circles around it before tracing up his fingers and wrist. He laughed, even though he didn’t feel anything, and it dove up into his hair, lighting it up as if he were celestial.

And then the light slowly died down.

“Fascinating,” Ollivander let out breathlessly. “Truly fascinating.”

“What is?” Damon curiously looked over the wand, nodding as Harry happily showed it to him.

“I know all my wands. I carve them and bring them to life, like infants given to me by the earth herself,” his hands outstretched, the numerous boxes piled high around him. “My father and his father and his father all created such wands. But I never make the same wand...yours, dear Mister Potter,” he pointed at the wand with a glint in his eyes. “Well it’s fascinating that your wand should so choose you, when its very brother gave you that scar upon your head.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have found that writing out 11 year old is...oddly harder than writing babies/children or adults. Huh. Who would've thunk.
> 
> Also yes, Stretch has a service pup! Helps him get out of bed, get dressed, greet the day, etc. etc. Toby is a good dog.
> 
> Also friendly PSA to NOT TOUCH A SERVICE DOG  
> actually don't touch any animal in public that you don't know wtf  
> but mostly service dogs. they're working hard for their human and that human is relying on them, so unless said human is like 'absolutely you may pet his cute little noggin and make his tail wag so adorably we both cry in happiness' then don't touchy  
> no touchy touchy the puppy puppy  
> this has been  
> weather


	4. A Tale Is Told

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who the hell is Voldemort???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is convenient that a Harry Potter Marathon is on, isn't it?
> 
> also like I had to reread Harry and Draco's letter bc it just wasn't feeling right, but then I remembered a letter young me wrote to older me and honestly it was mostly run on sentences and like the tone was...the same lmao. So yeah kids are sometimes weird with letters.

_”Your hair is soooo curly, Harry baby,” Damon kept running the brush through the black curls, making the young boy giggle. He was seated on a chair with a black cape around him, swinging his legs._

_“Love you, Mummy!” he squeaked, and Damon had to stop a moment to kiss his head._

_“And I love you, baby bolt. But damn, you’ve got some curls,” he chuckled, putting the brush to the side as he pulled out his phone. “Okay, so, now to spray...this…” He mumbled, spritzing a special purple bottle at Harry’s hair._

_Harry was thrilled to be doted on like this, his feet wiggling faster under the cape as he let out a series of giggles. Damon ran the brush through the wet curls slowly, pausing before rubbing the bristles at a spot on Harry’s head. “How’s that feel?”_

_Harry giggled harder at the ticklish feeling, squirming. “Mummy!! Tickles!”_

_Damon grinned, giving him another kiss before falling back to what they were trying to accomplish: getting Harry’s hair in to order. He WAS going to cut it, as it had gotten in Harry’s eyes, but he’d read something once long ago that cutting curls tended to make them more unruly, so it was better to tend to them rather than chopping them off._

_(In a year or so, Harry would request to cut his bangs, and Damon gave him a small trim to keep things in order, but beyond that, the hair was left free to be, and eventually, Damon taught him how to tend to his own hair without help. However, sometimes all his little boy wanted was some time together, and if that meant going through all the steps slowly so as not to catch the hair in between his claws, so be it.)_

“A-Are you sure,” McGonagall stuttered at first, clearing her throat. “Are you sure we should...be talking about it?” Her eyes strayed to Harry at the table. He was the smallest of all of them, his head and shoulders peeking over the wooden table of the bar. They had gotten a private table upstairs in order to talk.

“It has to do with me,” Harry piped up, his feet swaying under his chair. “So I should hear about it too.”

“He’s right,” Damon grunted, a hand on a glass full of something called firewhiskey that he was sure he’d need. They had gotten Harry a butterbeer which they were assured was non-alcoholic. “If it has to do with Harry, we don’t keep secrets. If it’s big, we discuss it as a family. So. Tell us the story.”

McGonagall hesitated, looking at her fellow professor, Hagrid nervously playing with his own mug. “Alright. Alright. Very well then.”

Voldemort was a wizard, often called He Who Must Not Be Named. He began a great war that culminated in one disastrous Halloween night, wherein he appeared at the Potter home. No one quite knew what exactly happened, but what they gathered is that he killed James at the door. Harry’s mother, Lily, ran upstairs in an effort to save Harry (an effort that was nigh on impossible, but the fear that ran through her blinded her to any alternative).

Voldemort killed her there.

But something happened in the nursery. Something saved Harry that night, something that no one had quite figured out.

“Gave yeh that there scar,” Hagrid mumbled out through his drink, letting out a hiccup as he set it down. “A markin’ of sorts.”

“Hagrid,” McGonagall hissed as Harry slid his hand up, tracing over the lightning bolt on his head with a frown.

“SO THAT’S IT? VOLD-”

“Shhh!” Hagrid waved his hands quickly. “Don’t say it!”

Cascade huffed. “FINE. THAT GUY-” Snape coughed into his drink, having to take a moment to get himself back together-”KILLED THEM, AND...JUST DIDN’T GET KILLED BY A BABY? AND NO ONE KNOWS HOW.”

“Y-Yes, that’s the long and short of it.”

Damon frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. “What about followers? What about people that, you know, went along with him? Is Harry in danger?”

“No! No no, no, ah…” McGonagall paused a moment. “They...a lot of them, you see, they were arrested, or turned a new leaf. Hogwarts is the safest place in the world, I can assure you.”

Damon grimaced. “We’re going with him the first day, or at least beforehand. I don’t feel like it’s safe. I don’t even know this headmaster guy!”

“Parents do not often request meetings,” Snape drawled, taking a long sip of his own drink, an odd tea that smelled of smoke and cranberries. “But...I’m sure he’ll allow something.”

And that was that. 

At least...for now.

~~~

‘Dear Draco,

Hi. I’ve never written a letter to a friend before. I wrote one to Grandpa once, when he went on a journey, but I was very little and I couldn’t hold a pencil so Mum wrote it.

Anyway, I hope you are having a good day. My birthday is coming up soon. My address is XXX Lane, but we are having the party at the park’s pool. I’d like it if you came. You don’t have to bring anything, but we can swim together.

I hope you come.

Harry’

‘Harry,

What the bloody hell are you writing in? That’s the strangest ink I’ve ever seen. Anyway, Mother says I can attend, and of course I shall bring a gift. That’s the theme of birthday parties after all.

Your owl is very overbearing did you know that? She kept biting at me until I read your letter, and then when I did, kept pulling me over to eat the food Mother had one of the house elves bring me! She’s...a bit like Mother herself!

I’ll see you in a little while.

Draco’

‘Dear Draco,

Yes. She’s like Mum in that way, wants to make sure you’ve eaten and all. Her name is Hedwig. I found it in one of my textbooks. 

Hedwig says hi. Mum says hi too. Dad says ‘is that that little blonde boy?’ and I had to explain neither of us are little anymore.

See you soon.

Harry’

~~

Ding carefully tilted the long piece of wood between his fingers, watching it tilt and twirl slowly. “My my, no, I had no idea,” he handed it back to Harry, who was sitting on the rug in front of the couch with Ding. He took it back with a shrug.

“It’s interesting, and I got books of all kinds and some potion stuff. I think I like it but I’d have to see during school,” Harry slipped the wand back into a special case Damon had made for him so it wouldn’t break accidentally. Ding smiled, patting Harry’s shoulder.

“I shall of course miss you, but I shall also send many letters and things. I think it’d be grand to go, myself.”

“Me too.” Harry peeked over his shoulder, frowning. “Mum and Dad are nervous though, I think. About the whole...uh, killer guy.”

“I would be very worried as well. But they said he is gone, yes?”

Harry shrugged. “You know how Mum is...he thinks someone’s out there, planning and stuff.” Damon had never really talked with Harry about his past, but he’d said a few things over the years that Harry realized that there were a few good reasons why Damon was so paranoid about people lurking in the shadows.

It was why he was quick to realize Harry had magic, and how to convince others that they were mistaken.

It’s also why his mum and uncle no longer had any family to speak of.

Not entirely true, but the lone family member they did have rarely came around, so much so that he only learned of Harry’s arrival when Harry had turned seven, years after he had settled in.

Ding sighed, nodding before smiling. “Well, it’s nothing for you to worry over. It’s us adults who should focus on keeping you safe, okay?”

“Okay, Grandpa.”

In the kitchen, Cascade was busy finishing off a plate of cookies with his handmade icing as Damon paced around. “I’m just saying, it’s suspicious as fucking hell that oh, this guy ups and disappears and that’s it.” He threw his hands up, still walking around the table. “That’s not how it’s done! You don’t disappear! People get revenge for you!”

“BUT THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHERE HE WAS, REMEMBER?” Cascade put the icing bag down, after swiping some from the nozzle. “WE TOOK HIM IN.”

“Yeah but...now they will! Right?” He waved his arms erratically as he paced harder. “Like, this Hogwarts, everyone goes to it, so they’ve got to know how old he is.” His hand shakily hovered over his arm, rubbing over the sweater angrily. “And if they know that, they’ll know he’s there, a-and…”

“DARLING…” Cascade stepped into Damon’s path, cupping his hand softly and holding it tight between his own hands. “YOU’RE OVERTHINKING AGAIN.”

“I know! I know and it doesn’t h-help that you’re…” he let out a sniff, rubbing at his face with his other hand, “saying that…”

“I KNOW.” And he did know. They had been together nigh on forever that it was almost silly to believe that he didn’t know Damon’s ins and outs. “I KNOW, LOVE, I DO.” He leaned over, kissing Damon’s head softly. “BUT HE’S GOING SOMEWHERE WITH WHAT AMOUNTS TO A FORCE FIELD, AND SEVERAL COMPETENT ADULTS. AND US, OF COURSE. YOU CAN’T PLAN FOR EVERYTHING, REMEMBER? AND TRYING TO DO SO ONLY MAKES YOU THAT MUCH MORE ANXIOUS.”

Damon hesitantly nodded, looking away for a moment before sighing and looking at Cascade. “You’re right, as always,” he chuckled. “But I’m not wrong for worrying, am I?”

“NEVER,” Cascade assured him. “BUT WE CANNOT WORRY OVER SOMETHING THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE A POSSIBILITY. IF THEY HAD ANY IDEA THAT HARRY WAS IN DANGER, THEY WOULD’VE SAID, AND WE WOULD KEEP HARRY HERE.”

Damon sighed, nodding with a smile. “You’re right,” he repeated. “Fine, fine. Okay, so the big guy dies, and everyone is arrested. Happy ending.”

“HAPPY ENDING.” Cascade leaned in, rubbing their noses together with a grin. “THAT’S NOT TO SAY SOMETHING WON’T HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, BUT RIGHT NOW, THERE’S NOT ANYTHING TO SAY THERE IS. WE SHALL LOOK AT IT POSITIVELY!”

“Yeah, babe, I got it.” 

But Damon still felt that dark tendril of fear wrapping around his soul, even as he let Cascade back to the cookies. It was hard to shake old habits when they kept him and his brother safe, leading him to the life he now lived. Hard to shake what kept them alive.

But he’d been through this before, this horror of thinking something was just around the corner aimed at them. He’d been through it when it was just him and Cascade, and he went through it not too long after they gained Harry into their lives.

Cascade helped him each time, calming his worries that sometimes held no truth.

For now, he had to believe his mate. Everything was fine. Harry was fine.

Hogwarts would be a totally normal wizard experience, and the only thing to worry about would be future crushes and heartbreak that would mend in time.

He had to believe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fell bribes his kids into liking him by appearing once in a blue moon, throwing out G, and saying 'yes well I'll be back' and not showing his face for years after.
> 
> (He's not really their dad, but he's also a skeleton and they've kind of adopted each other, so it's not like he raised them exactly)
> 
> also Harry def strikes me as the kid to avoid the couch and chair and settle on the rug to watch TV, does he not?
> 
> Merry Everything, everyone!


End file.
